1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to an insulated food and beverage container and, in particular, to a food container and a beverage container that can be fastened together and used as a set or carried separately as individual pieces.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lunch buckets and thermos bottles have accompanied people carrying their lunch to remote location for ages. Difficulties arise in attempting to transport certain hot foods and in keeping a beverage from ruining certain bulk foods if the container storing the beverage leaks and is in close proximity to the other food.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,105 to B. E. McFarlin on Mar. 02, 1971 for a Combined Food and Drink Container describes a box with flexible walls and a closable top. The box has a flexible fluid-impervious collapsible pouch attached within. The box will hold a bulk consumable like popcorn and the pouch will hold a beverage to consume with the bulk item.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,872 to J. G. Donnelly on Oct. 19, 1971 for a Receptacle Device for Food and Beverage Products or the like shows a lunchbox having a heat-insulating housing with a first container to store hot fluids and a second container suspended above the first to store food. There is an open space above the second container to store utensils.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,581 to R. Sedlacek on Sep. 27, 1977 for a Lunch Bucket and Beverage Bottle Combination describes a lunch bucket having a separate compartment for storing a beverage bottle. The door to the bottle compartment provides a friction lock to hold the bottle in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,867 to H. M. Alfredson on Nov. 19, 1991 for a Hot and Cold Lunch Box for Automobile Travel shows a lunch box that has two compartments. Both compartments are insulated to enable them to maintain their contents at either a hot or cold temperature. The upper section of the lunch box can also be placed over the door handle and lock of an automobile to protect them from ice.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,612 to Y. W. Liu on Jan. 26, 1993 for a Compact Collapsible Lunch Box describes a lunch box with a lower section that has collapsible walls. There is beverage container and a thermal gel pack to cool the food and the beverage container.
The above patents attempt to solve these storage and transportation problems but do not offer the convenience and complete separability of the present invention.